The Ministry of Education has said that schools cannot be rented for campaign activities and rallies.
The ministry’s remarks came after Villimalé MP Ahmed Usham expressed concern on Twitter that schools are being rented out to certain political parties.
However, the ministry said it would also give the lease of school halls to political parties if it complies with the rules.
However, Dharumavantha School was given to hold an MDP manifesto workshop from noon to sunset this weekend. MDP said that the event was to formulate policies to empower women.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, MNP Vice President Ahmed Usham tweeted that the Education Ministry’s response to non-MDP parties’ requests to allocate a school is that it is prohibited to allocate school halls and premises to political parties.
The Ministry of Education has a rule on how schools should be leased. It describes the non-rentable situation as “the school reserves the right to refuse to lease school grounds, halls and classrooms in matters where the nature of the activity may have an adverse effect on the moral and behavioral standards of schoolchildren”.
Although schools are not allowed for campaign rallies, President Solih held a campaign event at Hira School in Hulhumalé as part of the MDP presidential primary campaign.
